Box structure

ABSTRACT

A box structure comprising a pair of box sections that, when erected, can telescope one within the other. Each box section has a central wall, a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls. By the provision of appropriate fold lines, the side walls of one box section are folded outwardly and its end walls are folded inwardly, while the other box section has its side walls and end walls folded conversely. The box sections, when overlying one another, in unerected condition, form a relatively thin package for shipping and storage purposes. The box is strengthened by the fact that inwardly folded walls of one box section counteract the outwardly folded walls of the other box section, when the walls are erected and the box sections are telescoped.

llnited States Patent 1 [111 3,837,561

Rubin 1 1 Sept. 24, 1974 1 1 BOX STRUCTURE [76] Inventor: Marion Sturm Rubin, 65 W. 95th "1" 'f Pnce St" New York, NY 10025 Assistant Examiner-Bruce H. Bernstein Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Gottlieb, Rackman, [22] Filed: July 24, 1972 Reisman & Kirsch [21] Appl. No.: 274,420

Related U.S. Application Data [57] ABSTRACT [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 879,991, Nov. 26, A box Structure comprising a P of box Sections that,

1969, Pat. No. 3,679,120. when erected, can telescope one within the other.

Each box section has a central wall, a pair of opposed [52] U.S. Cl. 299/23 BT, 229/41 R, 229/87 R side walls and a pair of opposed end walls. By the pro- [51] Int. Cl..... 365d 5/36, B65d 13/04, B65d 65/10 vision of appropriate fold lines, the side walls of one [58] Field of Search 229/41 R, 40, 31 R, 34 R, box section are folded outwardly and its end walls are 229/87 R, 32, 23 BT, 16 R, 43 folded inwardly, while the other box section has its side walls and end walls folded conversely. The box [56] References Cited sections, when overlying one another, in unerected UNITED STATES PATENTS condition, form a relatively thin package for shipping 1 311 047 7/1919 and storage purposes. The box is strengthened by the 1463O74 7/1923 fact that inwardly folded walls of one box section 1:563:907 12/1925 counteract the outwardly folded walls of the other box 2,014,695 9/1935 section, when the walls are erected and the box sec- 3,276,662 10/1966 tions are telescoped.

4 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures Adams 229/87 R BOX STRUCTURE decorating packages which contain goods to be pres- I ented as a gift. This custom flourishes during certain holiday seasons at which time gift giving increases, but it is also followed on other festive occasions which occur a random intervals during the year. To date the most common manner of decorating a gift package is to separately purchase decorative wrapping paper, and to apply this paper to the outer surface of a standard box in which the purchased goods are received. The application of the paper to the box is achieved by the use of adhesive materials such as tape, ornamental stickers, or the like. This somewhat tedious process continues to be carried out by the consumer for want of a satisfactory pre-wrapped gift box.

Department stores are particularly troubled by the difficulties encountered in providing a gift wrapped package to the purchaser. Personnel must be hired solely to do the wrapping, the wrapping takes time, the personnel involved areusually not highly moitivated, the customer frets at the necessarily long waiting periods, and valuable space must be set aside for the wrapping operation. The cost in money and lost good will and selling opportunity is extremely high.

In order to overcome the length of time generally required to gift wrap a package by conventional techniques, some pre-wrapped gift boxes have been developed. These pre-wrapped boxes vary in form; usually one part of a box is covered with a wrapping sheet which is adhesively secured to that part of the box. Thus, the upper box section or cover may be prewrapped with a decorative sheet of paper and then placed over the lower box section in an overlapping engagement. No decorative paper is applied to the surface of the lower box section and therefore the overall effect is quite inadequate and somewhat artificial. To avoid this disadvantageous feature, other pre-wrapped gift boxes have been developed to include wrapping paper on all surfaces. Thus a folded blank including attached wrapping paper has been tried. That blank must be carefully erected and formed into a container and thereafter the goods inserted and the wrapping paper secured in place. That pre-wrapped assembly has not been commercially successful, primarily because it is useful only with a specific type of box. Furthermore the time of assembly is excessive, often exceeding that required to conventionally wrap a box.

In addition, it is desirable to utilize folding boxes which simultae in appearance and structural strength, preassembled boxes known conventionally as set-up boxes.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a box structure comprising a pair of box sections which, when erected, can be telescoped into one another, and which, when in flattened condition, may be placed into overlying engagement to form a compact package readily adapted to be stored and shipped.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a box structure of the character described, wherein the walls of the box sections tend to lean in opposed directions, against one another, thereby strengthening the structure.

It was further disclosed in my aforesaid application that the aforementioned difficulties are overcome and the above objects are satisfied by a simple and economical pre-wrapped box which comprises a wrapping sheet and first and second box sections positioned adjacent each other on and operatively connected to the wrapping sheet. Each box section is provided with colaterally projecting end and side walls which are interconnected to each other and are operatively connected respectively to a bottom wall on the first box section, and to a top wall on the second box section. The first box section is adapted to be received by the second box section when the sections are swung toward each other. When the box sections are so swung the side and end walls of the second box section telescope into the side and end walls of the first box section in a conventional manner, thereby to form a container.

Since both box sections are operatively attached to the wrapping sheet, as by adhesive, the wrapping sheet is carried with the box sections when they are swung into an overlapping engagement. In order to ensure that proper overlapping engagement of the box sections occurs without wrinkling or shearing the wrapping sheet, the box sections must be precisely positioned adjacent each other on the wrapping sheet. For example, these sections must be positioned substantially in registration on the sheet and must be spaced apart a distance not substantially less than the effective height of one of the end and side walls and less than twice that effective height. This spaced distance is measured between the closest adjacent edges of the top and bottom walls prior to the assembly of the box sections. With this arrangement the first box section may readily be swung directly into the second box section without shifting the box sections laterally relative to each other. Furthermore, this spacing of the box sections ensures that the wrapping sheet which is affixed to the box sections is not buckled, sheared or otherwise adversely affected during the assembly process.

In order that the pre-wrapped box assembly be stored and shipped without damage, each box section may be provided with fold means which enables the side and end walls thereof to be folded downwardly onto the top and bottom walls respectively. When flattened into this condition, the first and second box sections may be swung into overlying engagement to form a compact package readily adapted to be stored and shipped. For this purpose the first box section is provided with diagonal fold lines extending upwardly from the intersection points of the side, end, and bottom walls. In the first box section these diagonal fold lines are placed in the end walls, so that they may be folded downwardly and outwardly relative to the bottom wall and the side walls of the first section may be folded downwardly and inwardly onto the bottom wall. In the second box section the diagonal fold lines are provided in the side walls, thereby enabling the end walls to be folded downwardly and inwardly onto the top wall and to permit the side walls to be folded downardly and outwardly away from the top wall. With this specific fold arrangement a minimum thickness dimension is obtained when the two folded box sections are swung into overlying engagement during their storage condition.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the box sections are composed of a stiff but collapsible material such as paperboard or the like. The wrapping sheet may be composed of any suitable decorative material such as the conventionally employed wrapping paper, or a suitable fabric. Preferably the box sections are rectangular in shape, and are positioned on the wrapping sheet with the elongated side walls positioned adjacent each other. This latter arrangement enables a minimum thickness flattened package to be achieved when the box sections are swung on top of one another for storage purposes.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to a box structure as defined in the appended claims and as described in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an opened-out but nonerected pre-wrapped box with the side and end walls of each box section in a folded condition;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the pre-wrapped box taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

' FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the pre-wrapped box taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the pre-wrapped box taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the pre-wrapped box of FIG. 1, folded into a storage condition;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the pre-wrapped box of the invention with side and end walls erected just prior to final assembly;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view on a reduced scale of the pre-wrapped box of FIG. 6 after the completion of the assembly;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled prewrapped box taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled prewrapped box taken on line 9--9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the two sections of the box structure, partially erected; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are cross sectional views of a telescoped box structure, taken on lines 1l--11 and 1212 of FIG. 10, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, a pre-wrapped box 10 is best illustrated in FIG. 6. As there shown, the prewrapped box 10 comprises a first box section 12 and a second box section 14 both of which are operatively attached to a wrapping sheet 16, as by means of adhesive. The first box section 12 comprises a bottom wall 18, erected side walls and erected end walls 22. Similarly the second box section 14 comprises a top wall 24, erected side walls 26 and erected end walls 28. The pre-wrapped box 10 is shown in FIG. 6just prior to the telescoping engagement of box sections 12 and 14. As illustrated, box section 14 telescopically receives box section 12 in a conventional manner to enclose a span between bottom wall 18 and top wall 24 and between the side and end walls 20, 26 and 22, 28. When the box sections are fully telescoped to the condition illustrated in FIG. 7, the side walls 26 overlap the side walls 20 and the end walls 28 overlap the end walls 22.

In order that the assembly of the box sections occur in a minimum of time, and in order that the wrapping paper 16 be smoothly formed about the surfaces of the:

walls of the box sections as shown in FIG. 7, the spacing between box sections 12 and 14 on the wrapping sheet 16 is carefully determined when the box sections 12 and 14 are attached to the wrapping sheet 16. Referring to FIG. 1, this spacing is designated by the letter d and is measured between the edge 30 of the top wall 24, and edge 23 of the bottom wall 18. This distance d is substantially equal to the effective height of one of the end or side walls of the box sections. Thus, the distance (I may be substantially equal to the distance h which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6 as being the effective erected height of the side wall 20 and end wall 22 of box section 12 or to the distance h which is here shown as being the effective erected height of the side wall 26 and end wall 28 of the box section 14, whichever is the greater.

The specific dimension (1 should not vary to any appreciable degree from the values above mentioned by any great amount, unless the box is specifically designed to hold a product the thickness of which is greater than the dimension h or 11', in which case the dimension d should correspond to that thickness. This thickness will however be less than twice the distance h or h in order that the box sections 12 and 14 be assembled into telescoping engagement. If the dimension d is too large, non-uniformityof the surface of the wrapping sheet 16 will result, i.e., buckling and wrinkling when the box sections 12 and 14 are placed in their final positions. If the distance d is substantially less than the above mentioned values then the side walls '20 and 22 will interfere with each other when the box is erected. As the drawings show, in the preferred embodiment the distance d is slightly greater than 11 in order to facilitate the manipulation of the box sections during assembly, thereby minimizing the possibility of overstressing and tearing the thin wrapping sheet 16.

FIGS. 1 to 5 illustrate the box sections 12 and 14 as positioned on the wrapping sheet 16 prior to the erected assembly positions depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7. In FIG. 1, it will be noted that the end walls 22 of box section 12 are folded downwardly and outwardly with respect to the bottom wall 18. The side walls 20 of this box section are folded downwardly and inwardly onto the bottom wall 18. Conversely, the end walls 28 of the box section 14 are folded downwardly and inwardly on to the bottom wall 24 while the side walls 26 of this box section are folded downwardly and outwardly away from the top wall 24. This particular folding arrangement is provided so that when the box sections 12 and 14 are rotated into overlying engagement as shown in FIG. 5, a compact package results. With the particular folding arrangement illustrated the walls of one box section do not abut against those of the other box section. For example, since the side walls 26 of box section 14 are folded onto the wrapping sheet 16, they present no substantial thickness dimension as shown in FIG. 4. The thickness dimension resulting from the side walls is essentially that of the folded side walls 20 of box section 12 (FIGS. 4 and 5). If both side walls 20 and 26 were folded downwardly and inwardly onto the bottom wall 18 of the top wall 24 respectively, a greater thickness dimension would result when the rotated engagement occurs since these walls would abut. The same holds true for the specific manner of folding the end walls 22 and 28. Thus, a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate that the only thickness dimension which results from the engagement of the box sections 12 and 14 when in the condition illustrated in FIG. 5 is that of the end wall 28 in its overlapped condition of FIG. 2.

In order to effect the folding arrangement described, each box section is provided with diagonal fold lines extending in a prescribed direction from the intersection points of the walls of that box section. For example, in FIG. 1, the box section 12 has four points 25 at the intersections of the bottom, side and end walls 18, and 22. Diagonal fold lines 27 are formed in the end walls 22 and project outwardly from the intersecting points 25 to the outer edge 29 of these end walls 22. These fold lines 27 permit the simultaneous folding of the side walls 20 and the end walls 22, as shown. The second box section 14 is provided with diagonal fold lines 31 in its side walls 26 which extend upwardly from corresponding intersection points 25. These diagonal fold lines 31 extend to the outer edge 33 of the side walls 26. To assist the folding operation, additional fold lines 35 and 37 may be formed at the outer edges of the walls 24 and 18 respectively in conventional manner.

When the box section 14 is erected, as will be described in greater detail subsequently, the end walls 28 and the side walls 26 assume a position substantially perpendicular to the top wall 24. However, due to the initial folded'condition of all of these walls, the end walls 28 tend to lean inwardly, while the side walls 26 tend to lean outwardly. In similar fashion, with respect to box section 12, the side walls 20, when the box section is erected, tend to lean inwardly and the end walls 22 tend to lean outwardly. When the box sections 12, 14 are telescoped one within the other, the end walls 22 of box section 12 contact and lean against the end walls 28 of the box section 14. This opposite leaning tendency of the end walls of the box sections strenghens the ability of the box structure to resist collapse. By holding the end walls stiffly, the box structure tends to also prevent collapse of the side walls, since the end walls and side walls of each box section are interconnected. This also tends to cause all of these walls to stand vertically, which yields a neater appearance approaching the look of a set-up box.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the described manner of folding the walls of the box sections enables the outer edges 29 of end walls 22 in box sections 12 to project beyond the edge 41 of wrapping sheet 16. The projecting end walls 22 thereby provide a gripping means whereby the folded assembly of FIG. 5 may readily be inserted into or taken from a storage shelf, without having to grasp the relatively flimsy and delicate sheet 16.

The box sections 12 and 14 may be operatively attached to the wrapping sheet 16 by means ofa suitable adhesive material 32 as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The adhesive is interposed between the box sections and the wrapping sheet 16 at suitable locations, typical such locations being designated 32. This condition minimizes the possible tearing or ripping of the wrapping sheet. Only that amount of adhesive which is sufficient to hold the box sections to the sheet is required, since the box sections are normally stored and shipped in the condition illustrated in FIG. 5.

Referring again to FIGS. 6 through 9, the wrapping paper 16 may be of a size sufficient to include an extended section 34 which extends beyond the side wall 26 of box section 14. This section 34 may be provided with a suitable adhesive material 26 which is shown in FIG. 1. A release paper (not shown) may be placed over the adhesive material as a protective covering. When the box sections are placed into overlapping engagement as illustrated in FIG. 7, the extended section 34 is adhesively secured to the lower surface 38 of the wrapping sheet 16 as shown in FIG. 9. This particular overlapping section 34, although not necessary to the proper assembly of the box, is desirable since it facilitates the final attachment of that section of the wrapping sheet to the box and is effective to impart a finished apperance which convincingly detracts from the aritifcial pre-wrapped look which characterizes prior art devices.

The wrapping sheet 16 may also be sized to provide projecting sections 40, 42 which extend beyond the end walls 22 and 28 respectively of the box sections. These projecting sections may be dimensioned so as to provide either a butt or lap joint 44 when finally assembled on the box sections as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. An adhesive material similar to that indicated by the numeral '36 in FIG. 1, but not shown in FIG. 7, may also be applied to the inside surface of these projecting sections 40 and 42 so that they may be conveniently attached to the end wall 28 of the box section 14. Any other manner of adhesively securing any of the wrapping sheet sections herein described is also acceptable and the invention is not limited to the manner of adhesion described.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the pre-wrapped box of the invention is simple and economical. The attachment of both box sections to a wrapping sheet in a position which enables the box sections to be quickly swung into telescoping engagement facilitates the assembly process, and renders the prewrapped box highly desirable for use in situations such as a department store gift wrapping service. In addition, the ability of the box sections to be folded in a specific manner enables the pre-wrapped box to be stored and shipped conveniently, stacked and taking up a minimal amount of space, while minimizing the possibility of damage to the wrapping sheet. Thus, the pre-wrapped box may readily be commercially sold as a unit at any retail outlet.

Purely by way of example, the fold means if included may be any suitable arrangement of fold lines effective to flatten the box sections. Thus the fold means need not comprise diagonal fold lines as shown but may instead comprise perpendicularly positioned fold lines in the end and side walls. These lines would tend to square of the box sections in their flattened condition. The side and end walls may be separated at their joints when flattened and interconnected by tabs or suitable connecting means when erected. In addition, the box sections need not be rectangular in shape but may be round or irregularly shaped, if desired. These and other modifications may be made in the disclosed embodiment, all without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.

While the box structure described above and shown in the drawings is discussed in connection with gift wrapping, it may be readily used wherever a folding gift box is employed, even without an attached decorative wrapping 556a. Further, while the box structure shown in FIGS. 1 through 9 is formed of single-panel side and end walls, it is intended that boxes employing double-panel side and/or end walls can also be used. If the box structure is such that only a pair of the side or end walls of a box section are formed with double panels, then the objectives and advantages of this invention are obtained by forming one box section with doublepaneled end walls and the other box section with singlepaneled end walls. The foregoing is illustrated in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 through 12.

In this embodiment, the bottom section 100 has a central bottom wall 102, single-panel side walls 104, 106 and double-panel end walls 108, 110. The end walls and side walls are interconnected to each other and to the bottom wall by appropriate fold lines and corner flaps 112 as shown and as known for set-up boxes in the industry. In collapsed condition, the end walls are outwardly folded and the side walls inwardly folded, as in FIG. 1. Each end wall double-panel may be formed by an interior segment 108a and exterior segment 108b, which folds into coincidence along fold line 1086. The exterior segment 10812 is retained in place upon erection by lock 114 fitting into slot 116, as is also conventional.

The top section 118, which telescopes over the bottom section 100, conversely has a central top wall 120, singlepanel end walls 122, 124 and double-panel side walls 126, 128. These double-paneled walls are constructed identically to the end walls 108, 110 of the bottom section.

As best seen in the cross-sections of FIGS. 11 and 12, the double-panel walls 108, 110 of th e bottom segtjon tend to press outwardly against the inwardly inclined single-panel walls 122, 124 of the top section, this opposed leaning tendency of these walls resulting from their memory of their positions when collapsed. This counter-pressure results in a strengthened box of neat appearance.

I claim:

1. A box structure comprising erectable first and second box sections, the sections when erected being adapted to telescope in one another, the first box section having a flat central top wall, a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls, the side walls and end walls being foldably connected to each other and to the top wall, the second box section having a flat central bottom wall, a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls, the side walls and end walls being foldably connected to each other and to the bottom wall, the end walls and the side walls of one box section in unerected condition being folded downwardly and outwardly and being folded downwardly and inwardly, respectively, and the end walls and the side walls of the other box section in unerected condition being folded downardly and inwardly and being folded downwardly and outwardly, respectively whereby when the erected box sections are telescoped, the end walls of one box section urge against the end walls of the other box section and the side walls of one box section urge against the side walls of the other box section, and whereby with the unerected one box section adapted to be placed over the unerected other box section for storage, the end walls and side walls of the one box section do not abut the end walls and the side walls of the other box section.

2. A box structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the end walls of said one box section have diagonal fold lines formed therein running outwardly from the intersection points of the end walls, side walls and respective central wall, and the side walls of said other box section have diagonal fold lines formed therein running outwardly from the intersection points of the end walls, side walls and respective central wall.

3. A box structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the end walls of one box section are double-walled and the end walls of the other box section are single-walled.

4. A box structure as set forth in claim 3 wherein the side walls of said one box section are single-walled and the side walls of said other box section are double- 

1. A box structure comprising erectable first and second box sections, the sections when erected being adapted to telescope in one another, the first box section having a flat central top wall, a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls, the side walls and end walls being foldably connected to each other and to the top wall, the second box section having a flat central bottom wall, a pair of opposed side walls and a pair of opposed end walls, the side walls and end walls being foldably connected to each other and to the bottom wall, the end walls and the side walls of one box section in unerected condition being folded downwardly and outwardly and being folded downwardly and inwardly, respectively, and the end walls and the side walls of the other box section in unerected condition being folded downardly and inwardly and being folded downwardly and outwardly, respectively whereby when the erected box sections are telescoped, the end walls of one box section urge against the end walls of the other box section and the side walls of one box section urge against the side walls of the other box section, and whereby with the unerected one box section adapted to be placed over the unerected other box section for storage, the end walls and side walls of the one box section do not abut the end walls and the side walls of the other box section.
 2. A box structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the end walls of said one box section have diagonal fold lines formed therein running outwardly from the intersection points of the end walls, side walls and respective central wall, and the side walls of said other box section have diagonal fold lines formed therein running outwardly from the intersection points of the end walls, side walls and respective central wall.
 3. A box structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein the end walls of one box section are double-walled and the end walls of the other box section are single-walled.
 4. A box structure as set forth in claim 3 wherein the side walls of said one box section are single-walled and the side walls of said other box section are double-walled. 